Record completion rates for UGA students

December 04, 2018by Jere W. Morehead, President

As the University of Georgia prepares for fall Commencement ceremonies next week,
we are celebrating the record completion rates for our outstanding students. The University’s
four-year completion rate has moved up two percentage points from last year to reach
a record 68 percent, and 75 percent of UGA students now earn their degrees in four
years plus one semester. The six-year completion rate is now 86 percent. These numbers
put UGA within one point of the average completion rates at our highly selective aspirational
institutions and well above the average rates at peer and SEC institutions.

Initiatives launched over the past five years to promote student learning and success
are largely to thank for these achievements. Among them, additional faculty have been
hired to lower the student-to-faculty ratio, enable more personalized academic support,
and increase access to high-demand courses; additional advisors have been hired to
enhance advising for students in high-demand majors and those who are pre-business,
pre-journalism, or undecided; and new orientation programs have been implemented to
help first-year and transfer students transition to the University and make the most
of their undergraduate experience.

Everyone at UGA can be proud of these record completion rates, and we will continue
striving to raise the numbers even higher. The University looks forward to congratulating
our newest graduates next week and welcoming them to the ranks of the more than 318,000
UGA alumni who are making a positive difference in the world.